Two Words
by Crystal Royale
Summary: If only. . . . But it's too late for that now. If only I could say just two words before my time fades away. The final thoughts of a dying valkyrie.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fire Emblem or any of the characters, etc. Nintendo has that honor.

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It was the strangest thing, watching this force use my body to do things I would not have chosen to do. At present, my body was using the magic tome it had been given, an extremely powerful Anima Magic spell called Excalibur, against a small, elite faction of Eliwood's army, a young female sage to be specific. Her I recognized; she was Nino, the daughter of Sonia, wife to Brendan Reed of the Black Fang. Brendan's sons, Lloyd and Linus, were on the other side of the room from my body's position, fighting against other members of Eliwood's army. As our fights raged on, we seemed to be getting closer. However, I was not the only one being controlled; so were both Reed brothers, as well as four other Black Fang members, including Brendan Reed himself, Marquess Laus, and a number of others. By now, only Lloyd, Linus, and I were still fighting, still standing, but even then, it was only a matter of time before we, too, fell to Eliwood and his friends. It was only a matter of minutes until the strange power controlling us would be released, and we would be allowed to die peacefully, saved from this half-life Nergal had given us. Shortly after we were freed, Nergal would fall to their blades, and his mad quest for power would be stopped.

Oh, how I wished I could stop this now. Even though it doesn't hurt when the arrows of a female sniper plunge deep into me, I wish it would. All I wanted was to be free from this strange spell that was holding my body captive, yet my mind was still my own.

Nino's magic courses through me. The horse I'm riding does not flinch, as it, too, is just a construct, like my body, and the bodies of the others, called morphs. I think perhaps something went wrong when Nergal used my quintessence to create a morph in my image. Why am I still here, even though I cannot control the actions of my body? Why me? Why can I not be allowed to die peacefully?

Eliwood is heading this way, forcing Lloyd to fall back towards me. Linus was just struck down by some sort of dark magic spell, Luna, I believe. The minutes have turned into seconds, I hope.

Lloyd is next to me now. There is no expression on his face, even as he faces his sister, even as there are tears in her eyes as she attacks this farce, this false copy of her brother. As her magic spell flies towards him, Eliwood's sword stabs through my body. I can feel the strange power losing its control. The Pheraen lordling dodges my spell, and once again, his aim is true, and this time, the power breaks, and I am finally free.

My horse dissolves, turning into dust, and I fall, smiling. Next to me is Lloyd, already lying on the ground, having been nailed by Nino's spell. He, too, is smiling, and I realize that I am not the only one who was trapped this way, a consciousness in an unresponsive body. My tome has long fallen from my hand, and Lloyd no longer has the strength, nor the will, to grasp his sword.

The seconds are fading away now, as is my sham of a body, as is Lloyd. And yet, I am happy. I am released from this torture, and I can now rest. I know that Eliwood and his friends will stop Nergal, no matter what. I could see the determination in their eyes. Now, I can see nothing but Lloyd in front of me.

Once, I was feared as one of the Four Fangs, dispensing the Fang's judgment to all who failed in their duties and obligations. Once, I served a woman whom I thought to be perfect, who served a man she thought to be a god. Once, I dared to hope for a second chance at life. Oh, how I wish that things could've turned out differently, but it is too late for regrets. As I lay dying, I can only pray that something good can come from my death. As I look as Lloyd, I know that something bad has already come from my life. But I know that Nino, even though I cannot see her, is one who will benefit from my death, as I once gave the order to kill her.

I was given a second chance at life, a chance I did not want or need. And yet, as I lay dying, I wish for life, even as I once wished for death and was given life. My only regret now is that I could never really thank the one man who did save me, the only man I ever loved. If only I had realized that sooner. But life is full of 'if only's and regrets. At this moment, I simply wished that I could have the strength and the breath to say just two words:

_Thank you._

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I honestly don't know where this came from. It just sort of happened when I was trying to write something else. It being almost one in the morning as I type this might have something to do with it, or possibly the music I'm listening to. And I've been playing Fire Emblem a lot recently (Blazing Sword, actually), and as I was playing through the final chapter and watching the morph look-alikes as they died, I thought that if they'd the strength to speak, instead of just smiling, they would want to say 'thank you.' That's probably how this came about as well.

Oh, and if you couldn't tell, this is Ursula speaking/thinking. An interesting character, that one is.

Thoughts, anyone? Comments? Things I can improve on? Please review!

Cryssy


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